Typical sleep behaviour (5) – toddlers 2 to 3 years
Typical sleep behaviour (5) – toddlers 2 to 3 years
In your language:
For translated fact sheets go to
Information in community languages
.
Toddler sleep patterns and behaviours (2 to 3 years)
Between the ages of 2 and 3 years, toddlers often sleep 12 to 13 hours in a 24-hour period.
This includes 1 to 2 hours during the day, which helps to promote optimal learning and development.
A number of sleep-related changes commonly occur in this age group. This includes:
a decrease in daytime naps
longer periods of sleep overnight
often a decrease in night waking.
Every child is different, so don’t worry too much if your toddler has different sleep patterns to those described here. If you are concerned about your child, contact
your local maternal and child nurse
, your doctor or the
Maternal and Child Health Line
on Tel.
13 22 29
.
Toddler sleep rhythms at 2 to 3 years
Around this time, your toddler may reduce the number and length of daytime naps.
As toddlers’ brains are developing quickly,
they may develop night-time fears
and may need additional comfort.
They may still resist going to sleep at night and want to stay up with the family.
Settling your toddler at 2 to 3 years
By understanding and connecting with your toddler you will learn their cues and be able to support positive sleep patterns.
Routines and environments play a big part in helping toddlers get to sleep – they need a cue to tell them when it is sleep time, which is usually something in their external environment. It could be a dark room or having familiar objects around them.
Limiting screen time at night and having a
regular bedtime routine
(such as bath, book, song and bed) can help to prevent and reduce settling difficulties and waking at night.
Some strategies you can use to develop positive sleep behaviour
include:
Recognising and responding to
tired signs
Using positive and consistent
bedtime routines
Parental presence
– using your presence as a safety signal to reduce your toddler’s anxiety by sleeping in their room
Bedtime fading
– to try and reduce night waking in older toddlers. It uses your child’s natural tendency to sleep for the right length of time (called
sleep homeostasis
) by delaying bedtime by 15 minutes each night in order to reduce the time your toddler spends sleeping.
It can be helpful to track your toddler’s sleep for a week or so.
This can give you a clear idea of what might be going on.
Moving your toddler from cot to bed
Once you notice your toddler is attempting to climb out of their cot, it is
time to move them to a bed
. This is usually between 2 and 3 ½ years of age but can be as early as 18 months.
It is important to make sure that your home and bed is safe for your toddler.
Moving from a cot to a bed can bring about new difficulties at bedtime, and toddlers in this age group may go through a stage of calling out or getting out of bed.
If you’ve tried the above strategies for 1 to 2 weeks, and you are still concerned about your toddler’s sleep, talk to your family’s maternal and child health nurse, your doctor or call the Maternal and Child Health Line on Tel.
13 22 29
.
Information in community languages
This fact sheet is available for download in the following community languages:
Easy English - Typical sleep behaviour (4 and 5) toddlers 1 to 3 years
docx
302.01 KB
Arabic - ورقۀ معلومات 5: رفتار خاص خواب: اطفال نوپای 2 تا 3 ساله (Typical sleep behaviour (5) toddlers 2 to 3 years)
docx
281.78 KB
Burmese - အချက်အလက်မှတ်တမ်း 5 - ပုံမှန်အိပ်စက်ခြင်းဆိုင်ရာအပြုအမူ - တွားသွားကလေးငယ်များ 2–3 နှစ် (Typical sleep behaviour (5) toddlers 2 to 3 years)
doc
304 KB
Dari - صحيفة المعلومات 5، سلوك النوم المعتاد: الأطفال من عمر 2-3 سنوات (Typical sleep behaviour (5) toddlers 2 to 3 years)
docx
284.04 KB
Khmer - សន្លឹកព័ត៌មានទី៥៖ ឥរិយាបទគេងជាធម្មតា៖ ក្មេងដែលទើបចេះដើរអាយុ២-៣ឆ្នាំ (Typical sleep behaviour (5) toddlers 2 to 3 years)
docx
285.53 KB
Persian - برگه اطلاع رسانی 5: رفتارهای معمول خواب: کودکان نوپای 2 تا 3 ساله (Typical sleep behaviour (5) toddlers 2 to 3 years)
docx
265.55 KB
Punjabi - ਤੱਥਸ਼ੀਟ 5: ਨੀਂਦ ਦੇ ਖਾਸ ਵਿਵਹਾਰ: ਛੋਟੇ ਬੱਚੇ 2-3 ਸਾਲ (Typical sleep behaviour (5) toddlers 2 to 3 years)
docx
285.15 KB
Simplified Chinese - 信息说明书5：典型睡眠行为：2–3岁学步幼儿 (Typical sleep behaviour (5) toddlers 2 to 3 years)
docx
239.2 KB
Spanish - Hoja informativa 5: Conducta habitual del sueño en niños de 2 a 3 años (Typical sleep behaviour (5) toddlers 2 to 3 years)
docx
281.29 KB
Vietnamese - Tờ thông tin 5: Hành vi ngủ đặc trưng - trẻ chập chững từ 2 đến 3 tuổi (Typical sleep behaviour (5) toddlers 2 to 3 years)
docx
281.12 KB
Maternal and child health nurse visits are important
Victorian parents have free access to the
Maternal and Child Health Service
, which is a great support after your baby is born.
Specially trained maternal and child health will work with your family to help you care for your child until they are ready to start school.
As part of this service, you will visit a maternal and child health nurse in your local area at 10 key ages and stages in your child’s development. These visits are important because they you an opportunity to identify and address any issues and concerns early in your child’s development.
Visits take place:
following discharge from hospital (
home visit
)
2 weeks
4 weeks
8 weeks
4 months
8 months
1 year
18 months
2 years
3 and a half years
.
Families can access the service at other times by telephone or through a centre visit.
Where to get help
Your local maternal and child health
service
External Link
Your GP (doctor)
Maternal and Child Health Line
Tel.
13 22 29
– available 24 hours a day for the cost of a local call throughout Victoria
Mercy Health O’Connell Family
Centre
External Link
, Canterbury Tel.
(03) 8416 7600
Mercy Health Woi-wurrung-yagila-wulumperi Whittlesea Early Parenting
Centre
External Link
, South Morang Tel.
(03) 9407 6820
Queen Elizabeth Centre
(QEC)
External Link
Tel.
(03) 9549 2777
Tweddle Child and Family Health
Service
External Link
, Footscray and Werribee Tel.
(03) 9689 1577
Aboriginal Health Service
(VAHS)
External Link
Tel.
03 9419 3000
Parentline
Tel.
13 22 89
Translating and Interpreting Service (TIS
National)
External Link
Tel.
131 450
– available (24 hours, 7 days) for callers who speak other languages
National Relay
Service
External Link
(24 hours, 7 days) – Speak and listen Tel.
1300 555 727
, TTY Tel.
133 677
, SMS relay Tel.
0423 677 767
.
Captioned, internet and video relay calls are also available through this
service
External Link
.
NURSE-ON-CALL
Tel.
1300 60 60 24
– for expert health advice 24 hours a day, 7 days a week
Kidsafe
Victoria
External Link
Tel.
(03) 9036 2306